by Parramatta
Hi, we’re Parramatta from the UK. We write and record music that we hope would have been played by the late, much-missed DJ John Peel. If you have ever heard his show, you’ll understand; if you didn’t, let us explain.
Listen to the album while reading the text.
In the 70s, 80s & 90s, John Peel pretty much single-handedly championed alternative and independent music on the BBC’s nightly radio show. He played punk, reggae, folk, and anything that grabbed his attention. The more experimental and individual, the better. He introduced thousands of kids in their bedrooms to amazing bands through his sessions. For each show, he would have two bands pre-recorded 3–5 tracks laid down in the BBC studios and aired within a couple of weeks.
Through Uncle John, all of us became obsessed with sounds like those coming out of Liverpool in the early ’80s, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes, Wah! Heat, they all reached a national audience thanks to his show.
Parramatta was formed from the ashes of a little indie-goth-shoegaze band called Spellbound. We got to support a couple of decent bands, Catherine Wheel, Stereolab, and our pals Ivy, but the highlight of our rather short career was being played in a segue in between the Velvet Underground and the House of Love one night by Peely.
His shows are available in various formats around the net, many people acknowledge John as the most influential disc jockey in UK radio history, you really should check him out, you could find some real gems.
As for us, we are Parramatta. We have been described as Part-time Post-punk Popsters. We make music that we like, music that we would like to listen to, and, hopefully, music that Uncle John would have played, had he still been here.
The best introduction to our many singles and albums is probably this one, a compilation, strangely enough, entitled, “we still miss John Peel.”